By Kalmalinga
As/N: Thank you Lisabell for betaing for us. Thank you all who have reviewed and sorry for the long wait, part 13 is in the works.
Jack turned worried eyes to his crying 'son' whose sobs had turned hysterical at the sight of the bottle. "I don't think he likes the idea, doc."
"Well, as far as I can see, sir, it's the only way. We can either do this or a feeding tube, Colonel." She added, gesturing at the bottle in her hand.
At her words, Daniel's cries turned to wails and he started kicking his legs wildly. Jack quickly ran to his side, holding his upper body in a protective hug, pressing Daniel's face to his chest while making sure to block his ears in between his palm and chest. "Will you watch it! Can't you see you're scaring the kid here, doc?"
Janet sighed, looking both frustrated and guilty. "I'm sorry, Colonel." She whispered back, "but I truly think this is the only way. At least until Daniel has regained his ability to eat adult food. And besides you heard Torbin say that Daniel is more of a baby even though he looks like an adult."
Jack frowned, unsure. Still holding Daniel tight, rocking him gently in his arms in a vain attempt to calm him down somewhat.
"We can't let him starve, sir." Janet added in an even softer whisper.
Jack stared up at her soft brown eyes, weighing their options and he knew she was right. Daniel needed food and whether he liked it or not that baby bottle was the best option right now; his only option. Jack needed to be strong for him and do what was best for him because Daniel, for all intents and purposes, was a baby now; exactly what Dr. Fraiser just had pointed out.
Jack looked down at his crying bundle with the tenderness of a loving father. "It's okay, Danny. I'm here boy." He silently reached out for the bottle which Janet passed over with a small smile and a wordless 'good luck' before quietly stepping out of the way.
Jack raised the nipple to Daniel's mouth, but he stubbornly turned his head away and kicking his legs in protest. Jack jiggled him gently; cradling him in a warm embrace and making shushing noises in hopes of reassure him. "Shhh... it's okay, Danny. It's just you and me, boy; no one else."
Daniel whimpered softly as if unable to voice his thoughts any other way, his face going bright red as he eyed the proffered bottle in Jack's hand. Jack noticed this, and smiled reassuringly down at his best friend turned baby son. "Hey, don't go getting all shy with me now, Spacemonkey. I've seen you at your worst before, remember? And so have you, for that matter. This is no different to all those other times." Daniel just stared at him, looking somewhat unconvinced. "C'mon, just a tiny sip." He urged with a smile, "for your old man, here."
Daniel's eyes widened like big, shiny orbs at that. Jack smiled warmly, squeezing him tighter to his chest and bringing the bottle nipple to his lips once again. This time, Daniel responded, opening his mouth a tiny crack tentatively, allowing Jack to feed him.
Jack's smile widened to a broad, bright beam while Daniel slowly started to suckle the content of the bottle. He must have been really hungry since he started to suck greedily without any problems.
Jack smiled proudly at him, "Good boy. I promise as soon as you can eat solid food without a problem you can get rid of the bottle."
oOo
Dr. Fraiser was worried about Daniel, she didn't tell the Colonel about her worries because she didn't want to upset him unnecessarily. She decided to go to the General's office while hoping that the Furlings were still there.
She was relieved when she found the Furlings in his office as she had hoped. General Hammond looked worriedly at her, "Is the boy alright?" She smiled weakly, "As alright as he can be at the moment, Sir. He's out of danger, but there are some complications and that is what I want to talk to the Furlings about." The General lifted his eyebrows in worry, "What kind of complications?"
The Furlings looked worriedly to at her and Torbin said, "I hope we'll be able to help the new found father and son."
"The thing is when he first had a breakdown, Daniel was able to do things by himself when he woke up. The second time he had problems with eating and take care of his needs, but at least he was able to talk, eat mashed potatoes and drink out of a sippy cup. But now he's acting more like a baby, he cries instead of talking to let the Colonel know about his distress, he can't drink from a sippy cup or eat solid food anymore."
"How is he going to eat then?" The General asked worriedly. She smiled sadly at him, "The Colonel is feeding him baby formula with a baby bottle." The General looked bewildered at her, "Since he's not in the size of a baby, will that be enough nurturance for him? Won't he starve?" She shook her head, "No the nurse put some extra proteins in it so it will be enough for him, but he'll need the bottle every two to three hours."
The General nodded sadly since he had a feeling that Daniel wouldn't be happy about, if he still got some awareness left. "How does the boy react to the bottle?"
"Not good, Sir. And the Colonel wasn't happy to force Daniel, but he could see reasoning as to why. It was either that or a feeding tube which would only cause more stress for Daniel than a bottle would."
The General nodded in agreement he'd tried that once and it wasn't fun at all to get the feeding tube down your throat. "So what are you worried about, Doctor?"
"I'm worried because every time Daniel was near death or was dead, he seems to have gotten worse every time he woke back up. So I'm worried about Daniel's mental health." She turned her attention from the General to Torbin, "Will it be permanent?"
"I am sorry, I forgot to mention that you would have to expect relapses every time the boy has been separated for so long from his father. He will get better in due time, though you have to make sure that he will not be separated again for so long, especially for a season. The more relapses the longer it will take for the boy to become a man again."
"How long is your season in our standard?" Dr. Fraiser asked.
"Major Carter calculated that it is about three of your months."
Her eyes widened. "And you told us that he will be a child for twelve seasons, right?"
"That is correct." Torbin answered with a small nod.
"So he'll be a man child for three years, but because of his relapses it will be more." Dr. Fraiser wrinkled her brow as she continued, "How many seasons more?"
Torbin shook sadly his head, "Yes and sorry, I do not know. It is different from child to child." Torbin then turned his attention to General Hammond. "Sorry we cannot do more for you at the moment, but as we talked about a few moments ago we may come in an agreement to become allies. I will contact the Nox, Tolens, Tok'ra and the Asgard to reconnect with them again."
The General smiled pleasantly, "That is good news. If it is okay to you I will send our negotiation team to your planet." Torbin nodded, "They are most welcome. I am sure we will come to an agreement. We will need to go back to our plane now and talk with our people. Contact us at any time when the new found father and son needs our help. I just wished we could have done more for them."
oOo
As the Furlings had gated back to their planet, Dr. Fraiser and General Hammond went back to the General's office. "So Dr. Fraiser what did you want to talk to me about?"
"About Colonel O'Neill and Daniel, Sir. As soon as Daniel is well enough to be released from the infirmary, he will still need 24/7 care…" The General nodded, "Would it be wise to send Daniel to a care facility? As I recall the Furlings told us that The Colonel has to be the main caretaker."
"You're right, Sir, so Daniel would probably not survive being in an institution and I'm sure even if he was Colonel O'Neill wouldn't agree to it. The thing is I want you to put Colonel O'Neill on maternity leave." General Hammond looked confused at her, "Maternity leave?"
"Yes, Sir. As the Furlings said Daniel is mostly a baby even though he looks like an adult. I think it would be the best solution for Colonel O'Neill to have the time to take care of his son's needs. It wouldn't be in Daniel's best interest to stay on the mountain. He needs fresh air and his father's full attention. The Colonel wouldn't be able to care for him if he has to work on the base or off-world and in Daniel's condition it would be too dangerous for him to go off-world with his father." General Hammond nodded, "You're right. It is the best solution. I'll inform the Colonel that he will be on maternity leave until Daniel is 'old enough' to go to a 'daycare'."
"Thank you, General. Speaking of 'daycare,' Sir, I've wanted to ask you for some time now to open a daycare facility for adult's with special needs. We have some staff members here that have a family member they want to take care of with special needs, but because there isn't a day facility nearby they aren't able to. I thought if we would be able to start one here at the mountain, then Daniel can go there as soon as he can be away from his father longer. Jack will then have his son close by."
The General thought about and then nodded, "I will see what I can do."
"Thank you, General. Well, Sir if it is alright with you I'll go check on my patient to see if his father was able to feed him or if I have to set up a feeding tube."
"That will be all, Doctor. I hope he was able to. Tell the Colonel that I'll come visit them as soon as I can."
"Yes, Sir," Dr. Fraiser replied as she left the room.
oOo
When Dr. Fraiser went back to the infirmary she saw Daniel still in his father's arms though Jack was reading a story to Daniel this time. She looked questioningly at Jack; he nodded and pointed with his head at the empty bottle that was standing on the night table. She smiled satisfied at him and then went to her office.
TBC
